


I Stand by Your Side

by Ango_Isqua



Category: Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: Multi, Naboo Royal Handmaidens (Star Wars), Planet Coruscant (Star Wars), Planet Naboo (Star Wars)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:13:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,646
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28315104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ango_Isqua/pseuds/Ango_Isqua
Summary: The Senator and the Jedi left on a mission far from either Coruscant or Naboo. Sabé and Dormé have a duty to protect this secret as they were trained to do, but it is lonely to be someone you are not, and lonelier to stand a foot apart from the world.
Relationships: Dormé & Sabé (Star Wars), Dormé/Sabé (Star Wars), Padmé Amidala & Dormé & Sabé, Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker
Comments: 2
Kudos: 3





	I Stand by Your Side

**Author's Note:**

  * For [owls4ever](https://archiveofourown.org/users/owls4ever/gifts).



> Merry Christmas Owls my love, I know it's not done, you are a better friend than me I concede, but I will finish it, and I hope you enjoy.
> 
> Merry Christmas everyone! We'll see how long this gets. I have no idea right now.

The sun rose with an enchanting ombre of bright pastels. It reflected off the water of the lake and shone through the waterfalls, casting even more rainbows across the early morning world. Sabé stood on the balcony of the lake house, looking out over the water. The railing of the balcony was smooth under her hands, and the breeze from the shore curled over her fingers. It was a moment of quiet before the alertness began, before Padmé awoke and the day rushed into motion. She stood and watched the sun rise in silence until footsteps sounded behind her. Turning quickly to face the intruder, hackles raised instinctively, she relaxed at the sight of the new figure. The young jedi stood before her, his hands raised apologetically. 

“Sabé, good morning.” Sabé inclined her head and released a quiet sigh. The peace of the morning had ended early it appeared. “I’m sorry to bother you. I came here to meditate, not intrude.” His voice was different, somehow, than it usually was. He sounded tired almost, tired but calm. It was better than his everyday voice that he often took on around Padmé, and Sabé smiled softly at him. 

“It’s no bother, I was about to go wake the Senator anyway.” She gave a brief nod to the jedi, which he returned, and walked back into the house. She turned just before crossing the threshold and watched Anakin for a moment. He stood, feet apart and hands behind his back, facing out at the lake. It was a peaceful stance, but Sabé could see the tension still in his shoulders. There was something on his mind, more than just the Senator and the political situation. Shaking herself a little, Sabé turned away and entered Padmé’s room where the senator was standing at the window, looking out over the greens and blues of the lake. “You’re up early.” There was a question in her statement, and Padmé tore her gaze from the window to answer the unspoken concern. 

“I wished to watch the sunrise before the day began.” Sabé smiled lightly, it appeared that they were all seeking out precious moments of peace in troubled times. She walked up behind Padmé, and they stood together for a few more delicate seconds watching the soft waves lap at the sandy shore. The calm was broken by the senator, who let out a sharp breath, and gestured to her closet. “What do you think for today Sabé?” And so the flurry began, even this place, almost mesmerising in its calm, could not still Padmé. There was work to be done, she would do it, and Sabé would stand by her side as friend, confidant, advisor, protector, and aide in all things. 

\---

Sabé stood at the door of the house as Padmé and Anakin tumbled in, grass in their hair and twinkles in their eyes. She said nothing, and did not smile, but her eyes softened at Padmé as the senator fruitlessly tried to tidy herself. Anakin took his leave politely, and Sabé walked the proper two steps behind Padmé as they made their way to the senator’s chambers. As soon as they stepped in the door Padmé spun to face her. Her face was a mixture of joy and terror, and Sabé’s heart broke for her. 

“What am I going to do? This will only end in tragedy.” Sabé stood quietly, letting her mistress pace slightly. Padmé looked at her, making it clear that her question was not rhetorical. 

“Do you love him?” 

“I could.”

“Does he love you?”

“He could.”

“Padmé,” Padmé looked up from the spot on the floor she’d been drilling into with her gaze. “Where do you see yourselves in even a month or so?” Padmé remained silent, waiting for Sabé to continue. Sabé sighed. She had no wish to hurt her mistress, but this relationship, no matter how joyous, would end in tragedy. “I would counsel caution, Senator. It is not permitted for him, and inadvisable for you.” Padmé let out a long breath, and sank down onto the bed. Sabé stood aside. She had been tempted to allow the Senator her pleasure, but Padmé sought honesty and nothing Sabé said was anything the other woman didn't know. They sat together for a while, until Padmé jerked herself into motion once more. 

“We need to meet with Dormé.” It was a distraction, but a necessary one, and a pleasant one at that. Sabé tried to hide her smile at the pronouncement, and moved to her position behind Padmé. The hologram communicator blurred into life, and Dormé appeared before them. She stood at attention, and answered Padmé’s questions about the goings on in Coruscant. Jar Jar was doing his job, and there was little happening. The leisurely pace of the senate had not changed significantly since Padmé had fled to the safety of Naboo. After the report was completed Padmé stepped back, and Sabé replaced her in the front of the communicator. She felt her mistress leave the room, and she and Dormé comfortably settled onto the floors of their respective rooms. They caught up on more mundane topics, and tried to ignore the empty space which had been filled by Cordé and Versé. Padmé and Sabé had left quickly, without much time to mourn, and the losses weighed heavy on the conversation. They each loved Padmé dearly, respected her, and would gladly do anything to protect and support her, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t a shock and a tragedy when the bomb had gone off. They sat for more than an hour talking and reminiscing, wishing they could reach through the translucent images for comfort and companionship. 

\---

Sabé stood with Padmé at the door of the lakehouse. The Senator was dressed in blue, ready for anything, and Sabé looked on her with worry. Anakin was standing at the foot of the steps holding the few bags the pair were bringing with them. The two women stood close, their conversation hushed from the man below them.

“I have to go.”

“I know.”

“I’m falling Sabé, I’m falling and there’s nothing I can do.”

“I know.” This conversation was augmented by the gestures, signs, and motions that had become second nature after all these years. Hand motions transmitted orders. Expressions conveyed gratitude. Familiar ticks spoke of understanding. All in all a collage of communication that said everything each needed to relay. It was over soon enough though. Padmé was not one to dally, nor to change her mind, and the mission was time imperative. The Senator descended the steps to the Jedi, and together they entered into the mirrored ship. They rose into the sky, the sunrise reflected across the water, and across the facade of the ship. Sabé stood, looking up, until they had traveled out of view, and then turned away to begin the preparations for her own journey. The sunrise would be over before she was ready to return to Coruscant, and the memory of the reflection off the ship would be all she had for a long time to come. 

\---

The ship was bright, cold, and lonely on the way to Coruscant. Usually Sabé was with Padmé, Dormé, and the rest of the senators entourage, but now it was just her. One woman and a pilot flying in an empty ship to an oppressively full planet. Sabé tried to soak in the silence and calm while she could, but it is true that space is cold, and it is colder when you are alone. The trip was not long, a blink compared to the month spent on Naboo, but it dragged as the peaceful bustle of the lakehouse had not. When the ship touched down at the landing pad Dormé was there to greet her. They were both dressed in their handmaiden's robes, safe in their uniformity, but constricted by the standards of their positions. They greeted each other politely, and walked three feet apart, side by side, into the senator’s quarters. Once they had passed the doors of the private rooms they collapsed into each other. 

“What is happening, why are you here?” Dormé’s voice was muffled by the cloth of Sabé’s robe, and there was a pause before an answer came. Sabé pulled back, and led Dormé to the seats by the large windows. They sat, knees almost touching, as Sabé recounted the events of the last month. Dormé listened in silence until the story came to its conclusion, her gaze firmly locked on Sabé’s face. Once the silence stretched once again between them, she sighed. “I have faith in Padmé. She will do what is right.” She rubbed her hand worriedly against her face. “Even if this is wrong, and we are all traipsing down a path to destruction, I would follow her to the edges of the galaxy. If she is following this Jedi, then I suppose I shall follow him as well, and if following means staying behind in her place then here you shall find me.” Sabé nodded, such was as she had conveyed to Padmé. That same sentiment was what brought her here, to this planet that was not her home, and these people who were not her friends, to don a face that was not her own. Dormé was a friend though, a friend who felt the same as she, who would aid her in donning her face every day, who would walk two feet behind as if they were not equals, and who would stand by her side against the galaxy to protect Padmé and all they held dear. They stood together, and moved to another room holding all the trappings of another woman’s life. They donned the facade they had been trained to adorn themselves with, and prepared to play a role they knew so well it was as if it were true


End file.
